Lynn stared into Pablo’s rich brown eyes as he traced a circle around her belly button. The sun set beyond the forest. She glimpsed it from the treehouse window. They were saying goodbye to this place.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Pablo asked for the hundredth time. Only this time he was naked and laying on his side looking delicious. “Privacy will be hard to come by. We could stay here. Just you and me.”

She took the distracting hand in hers and laced their fingers together. “We’ll be ‘just you and me’ no matter where we are. Besides, I’m interested in the research Dolor offered you, Chief Medical Officer of the Two Worlds.”

Lynn melted as he blushed a little with his grin. He sounded extra impressed as he asked, “What about you and Smith, Strategic Weapons Engineer?”

Swatting him gently, she rolled onto her side. “Imagine it. And then you throw in what Rayne said about—”

“Doc. This is Alpha Progeny Three. Come In. Over.”

He groaned as he stretched for the radio. “Hey, Alpha Progeny Three. Go ahead. Over.”

“Doc. Caedes and Lucas are on their way to get the both of you. It’s a good thing. I promise. But it’s important. Also, you might wanna get dressed. Over and Out.” Sagan and Rayne snickered in the background.

They got dressed and let the Icari carry them back to Iona-29. Mid-flight Caedes called out to Lucas, “Hey, did you think we’d be reduced to carrier pigeons as part of this whole ‘save the Earth’ deal?”

Lynn and Lucas shared a look. The golden-eyed Icarus said, “If you wanted to carry Lynn, you could have just asked.”

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Caedes rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant.” The gruff Icarus grumbled the rest of the way.

As soon as they landed, she jumped onto the bald man and squeezed. “Thank you.”

He kept his arms to his side and muttered, “All right. All right. You’re welcome.”

She jumped up to kiss his cheek and to her delight, the man blushed.

Harmonized “ooo’s” and one “Pablo, you just gonna stand for that?” as Kyle, Tameka, and Rayne met them outside.

Tameka cut through the din, “You want to answer this call.” She took his hand and Pablo took Lynn’s. They rushed to the Icarean comms device in Iron Hope’s dining car.

Andrew waited inside. Into the comms, he said, “Go ahead, Bones. He’s right here. Over.”

Lynn scratched between Pablo’s tense shoulders as they waited on the surprise news.

The wayward Icarus’ voice came on the channel, “Yo, Doc. Somebody here wants to talk to you. Go ahead, ma’am…”

Her man’s body went ramrod straight. Frantically, he found her hand and gripped hard. She squeezed right back as they both loomed over the speakers.

“Pablo?” The woman’s words came out shaky. “Mijo?”

Andrew handed him the mic without Pablo having to ask. His voice cracked as he answered, “Madre? You’re all right?”

“Si. The eruption on Honolulu sent a lot of ash into the air, but we already sought shelter after the first message on the radio. Then we…”

As his mother told him the amazing story of her survival, the people in the room watched and listened. Rayne looked vacant. Tameka smiled warmly with a tear in her eye. Kyle hit a blunt but nodded along as if he was there for her entire story. Andrew caught Lynn’s gaze. They shared a moment of happiness for him. This was a beautiful thing.

“And this large, handsome man found us right before dinner. He said you saved the world, mijo. Is that true?”

The group exchanged glances with shining grins. Kyle muttered, “Imma make that Icarus a sword when he gets back.”

Lynn beamed at her man and drew him in for a hug.

Pablo pulled away with a smile and a sniffle. “Madre, don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Bones shouted in the background, “Too late!”

Giggles and snickers settled into happy sighs.

“He’s taking us on his plane to see you. Said we’ll be traveling on a train, tomorrow. Is there room for us? We don’t want to be in the way.”

He peered over at Rayne.

“Absolutely,” she said with love.

“Yea, madre.” Lynn gasped when he looked into her eyes and added, “I’ve got someone I want you to meet. I think you’re gonna love her as much as I do.”